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Air Compressor Recommendations for New Guy

rjm727

Well Known Member
Please post your recommendations for air compressors. I am just starting and having a difficult time choosing the right one. Single stage or two stage? CFM recommendations? Etc... I am leaning toward the U.S. General from Harbor Freight...anyone have this one?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Ray
 
Just don't get a Kobalt one from Lowes. I had two of them that broke and finally got a DeWalt. At least they have a decent return policy.

And welcome to the forum.

greg
 
I buy hf stuff all the time but I woud not buy a hf compressor. The compressor needs to be started and left to run for hours per day, fir days on end. A hf unit is ok for occasional use like inflating tires.

Now the hf industrial bench grinder is awesome, but it's not running all the time.

You don't need a mukti stage compressor. A single stage unit will make over 100psi which is plenty. I would buy the biggest unit ( most hp) you can plug into a 120v outlet

Frank
 
From my old web site info

A lot of people ask how big of air compressor is needed. here is the one that I bought at Lowes and it works great. I did have to run a separate outlet from the breaker box just for it. I only had one outlet in the hanger and I have lights, chargers, and a small refrigerator on it. The compressor would trip the breaker. Don't get an oilless compressor, they are very loud., this one is oil lubed. 6 HP, 25 Gal. 6.8 SCFM @ 90 PSI. Model# CPL6025
It is a Porter Cable brand.
 
Another vote for 120V, oil-lubed, 25-30 gal. Way quieter than oil-less and plenty of capacity for RV building tasks (I have one of each, both Craftsman). Nothing wrong with going bigger or 240V, but would defintiely not go smaller than 25 gal. If you go oil-less you might want to consider building a box/shroud to house it in to make the noise more tolerable.
 
Thanks for the reply and the Welcome Greg! DeWalt does have a great brand; I have lots of their woodworking tools. I will check it out.

Ray
 
Thanks Frank. I love HF but was not sure about something a task intensive as a compressor. The one I was looking at is a 60 gal, 12 CFM, 240V...maybe more than I need but I can run an HVLP gun with it. It is oil lubed and single stage.

Ray
 
Check Tractor Supply

I recently bought a 26 gallon Campbell Hausfeld from Tractor Supply for $299. It's belt driven and oil lubed; relatively quiet and the quality seems great so far. I couldn't find anything else comparable for this price. A bigger tank would be nice, but this will get the job done.
 
air compressors

Please post your recommendations for air compressors. I am just starting and having a difficult time choosing the right one. Single stage or two stage? CFM recommendations? Etc... I am leaning toward the U.S. General from Harbor Freight...anyone have this one?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Ray

I've never heard anyone complain about having a compressor that is too big. :rolleyes: As I see it, it basically comes down to 2 things: do you have 230 volts available, and are you going to paint yourself? (painting uses a lot of air) Buy the biggest compressor you can afford. I plan on painting my airplane and ended up with an IR 60 gal single stage. Others have gotten by with less.
 
Air Compressor

I just purchased a 60 gallon 240 volt upright compressor from Home Depot. The price was reduced to $399 and I got 10% off that with veteran's ID. It's fairly quiet as belt drive compressors go and has a FOUR year warranty.

The only downside is that there is no cord or regulator, but this seems to be the norm now at other places as well.

Seems to be a pretty good buy at that price. Model No. VT631403.

Mitch Garner
RV-4 flying
PL-4 flying
RV-12 under construction
 
Compressor

I agree with the advice above to buy the biggest and best you can reasonably afford. Do not get the oil-free kind. I bought a 120v Schulz industrial quality 30 gallon compressor, and have been very happy with it. It puts out plenty of air, and is extremely reliable. Don't forget to factor in the cost of putting in a 220v outlet if you go that route. Look at the air requirements of your tools and compare them to the output of the compressor. Then, find the best deal you can.
 
Ingersoll Rand

Northern Tools often has good prices on IR compressors. When I bought my 60 gal, 220V model they were offering free shipping.
 
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Careful

Thanks Frank. I love HF but was not sure about something a task intensive as a compressor. The one I was looking at is a 60 gal, 12 CFM, 240V...maybe more than I need but I can run an HVLP gun with it. It is oil lubed and single stage.

Ray

The slightest (and I mean slightest) oil contamination will ruin your paint job..You'll get fish eyes all over it!

Thats why i went against the grain and got an OILESS machine! from Sears actually. But I have a seperate room to put it in so noise is not a factor..I assumed it was a throwaway machine but its built the whole airplane and is still working just fine three years later.

Oh don't use old airlines that may have oil contamination either..even they will give you fisheyes..ask me how I know?

As to HF their HVLP spray guns are superb but make sure they have HVLP stamped on the side..otherwise they are not HVLP!!!!!

HF sells the full size and the mini gun as a twin pack these days..Buy both as you'll need them. The gravity feed gun is fine for primer.

Frank
 
An oiled compressor should not contaminate your paint as the oil used is strickly for pump lubrication. The oil never gets in the top end. Where you will get contamination is if u use an inline oiler for your tools. Basically the inline oiler mixes as little air amd tool oil to make it easier to remember(or not remember) to oil the tool. I say go with an oiled compressor no less then 30 gal the higher the psi rating the better. Oil your tools at the tool
 
Just saying

If its oil free you CAN't get oil contamination..As the cost of the paint will exceed the cost of the compressor 4 times over..Its a cosideration thats all.

Frank
 
So far, I've been happy with my Craftsman ("Crapsman") 33 gal. compressor. Didn't cost an arm and a leg, and I put it in a large plastic storage "closet" thingie outside and plumbed in shop air with several drops throughout the work area. It holds 90 psi for things like polishing and drilling reasonably well, and is more than adequate for riveting. Works fine turned way down for priming w/ Akzo primer, too. We'll see how it does on painting interior parts, but I expect it to be just fine, and since I'm going for polished aluminum exterior, paint on the outside is not a real driver for me.

Seems everybody has different kinds of compressors and ideas...maybe a better question would be what to *avoid* in a compressor? I'd think too small a volume would be the first thing...seems like 25 gal and some minimum CFM would be a good start?
 
Northern Tools often has good prices on IR compressors. When I bought my 60 gal, 220V model they were offering free shipping.

I have to second Ricks post. Northern tools has great deals with free shipping. I purchaced the Quincy 60 Gal upright and am very pleased. I would highly recomend any upright they sell though. The 220V kicks on less, less noise and has a tremendous PSI/CFM for priming and paint work. A good inline filter is also a must for tool protection. Check out my builders log/shop set up for some ideas.
 
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Thanks for all of the responses!!!

I really appreciate all of the feedback and insight. I went with a 60 gal, 240VAC, 12 CFM upright from HF. The price ($285 w/ shipping) was too good to pass up. I already have the 220 in my garage so it made sense all the way around. I'll surely have more questions along the way and will look forward to all of your help.

Thanks again!

Ray
 
My -7 project had about 90% of the work done with a 20 gal airless compressor, that sat just outside the workroom door. A little loud, but obviously bearable. The only times it was an issue is trying to use an air grinder, which will tax all but the largest compressors.

So, if money *is* an object, don't worry too much about going cheap.

I do have a very large 'traditional' compressor now, & it came in handy last night when a friend came over & sprayed the interior for me. I was geared up for Rustoleum Pro, but who could resist free labor.

The rest of this is slightly off topic, but might be interesting. He's a pro painter (owns a couple of body shops) and sprayed an automotive polyurethane with no special special setup, just drain the tank & leave the drain valve to bleed slightly. He sprayed in my open hangar, with it raining outside. He said that he wanted to paint with it raining & fairly cool to keep the bugs & dust down. Pretty much everything I would have tried to avoid if I was painting. The paint looks great, with just a few dust issues when the wind came up a bit more than we planned for.

This really has been an education....

Charlie
 
I went with the biggest 120V I could find (on Craigslist). It's a Campbell Hausfeld belt driven, oil fed, cast iron twin cylinder, 5.5cfm @90psi, 115v, 20 gallon air compressor. $160 for almost new! Works great and it keeps up with everything so far.

I know when I get to painting I'll need more cfm so when I plumbed for air in the garage I added male quick disconnect fittings to the bottoms of all my drops (5). That allows me to easily add additional compressors to the system. I've tested it by adding my small pancake compressor to the system and it works well. When the time comes to paint, I'll go looking on Craigslist for a bigger second compressor that will be resold when I've finished painting.

Snapshot_20090730.jpg
 
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